If you’ve ever sat around our warm firepit and seen the beautiful memorial plaques, you might be wondering about how this all came to be. There IS a special story behind it…
The Pavilion at Mountain View… the story of “Carol’s Dream”
Carolyn Vincentini, or Carol, as most people knew her, owned Mountain View Lodge for almost 16 years before she left us on 10/21/08. As so many guests who are now known as “family” will tell you, Carol made her guests feel like this was home. She had some dreams that she wanted to see come to life before she left; dreams that were intended to take care of the needs of the “family” that she was leaving behind. In the Winter and Spring of 2007/08, the entire building was renovated with new, warm & welcoming colors, amenities and special touches; the pool, hot tub and their area were completely rebuilt. Those were important things. And, it was a family project; we did most of the work ourselves! That made it special.
But, Carol’s dream had always been to have a nice covered area, maybe a fire pit and some barbeques for the “family” who came to stay at The Lodge. No one ever listened to that dream of hers much… or there was always something else to do. But one day, I found a picture she had drawn and her idea was born again. She had always made comments about how nice something like that would be. She just knew it was the ticket!
So when we knew “Mom” was leaving, it kind of became her bucket list. She did the drawings, told us exactly where she wanted it, picked out the fire pit and all the kitchen appliances, gave me the directions and hired the contractor to help make it happen. Then she said, “it’s time to get your dad out here to build the kitchen!” And we did!
It was her dream all the way down to those picnic tables in the Pavilion… Gerry and I took her to dinner at Lake Chelan Winery (they have the same great tables) about two weeks before she left. She looked closely at them and said to us, “I want those in my Pavilion!” We said, “you got it, Mom!”
A big group of MVL “Family” (yes long-time guests of the Lodge) gave up their time to come over and help get the project “off the ground. Mom, or Carol, got to see the “groundbreaking” being performed by many people who loved her before she left us.
So many more wonderful people contributed to Carol’s Dream. Uncle Dave, Virginia and Kelly kept the Lodge running smoothly. Jedidiah Wick was the contractor who helped me make everything work. My brother, Shannon, and my husband, Gerry, put in many hours making all the “little things” go together. My friend Tom came over from Seattle just to help us do the beautiful tile work. My son, Kelly, along with our Gabriel Castro, who are the technical wizards of the family, planned and orchestrated all the media out there and my cousin Andi’s husband, Derek, came out and did all the media wiring for us. Our local lifesaver, Dick Manski, came at the drop of a hat to do the demanding electrical system that Mom wanted, and Julio, from Shaw Plumbing, became a “part of the family!” A very talented man by the name of Darren Klinginsmith came to do the beautiful, hand poured and stained concrete counter tops and a friend, Bruce Johnson, of a long time MVL guest and now local friend, Joe King, came down and did the stucco for us. And, of course, Dad built the kitchen. It’s just perfect!
I know Mom is happy… if you are a guest of Mountain View Lodge, an “official family member” as we’d like to think of you, and you are enjoying your home away from home here with us… she’s smiling down at you.
